ITI Section 608 Study Guide - EPA 608 Practice

INTERNATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR THE

SHEET METAL AND AIR CONDITIONING INDUSTRY

EPA Section 608 Study Guide

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

3

CORE SECTION

5

TYPE I

24

TYPE II

28

TYPE III

33

GLOSSARY

38

Temperature / Pressure Chart

44

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Introduction to the Section 608 Study Guide

This study guide was put together by the International Training Institute to help prepare individuals for the EPA Section 608 certification exam. The information in this study guide is based on the most current information available at the time of publishing.

As a reminder, it is the technician's responsibility to comply with any future changes the EPA may make.

This guide will contain words in "BOLD" to help you remember key concepts and words. At the end of each section (Core, Type I, II, & III) there will be a practice quiz. If you can answer the questions on the quiz, then you should be well prepared to take the certification exam.

Certain personal information is required on the exam. Technicians should be prepared to present:

Picture identification Social security number Home address At the beginning of the exam, you will need to fill in your personal information and also create a unique identification number. This number will be in Social Security number format xxx-xx-xxxx and will be visible on the front of your certification card. DO NOT use your Social Security number when filling in this part.

During the exam, read each test question thoroughly. Pay special attention to clarifying words like: always, never, not, sometimes, minimum, maximum, least, most, best, worst and similar words. Read every answer, even if you think the first one is correct. Many questions are missed because not all the answer options are read. And you can always skip a question and come back to it.

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About the Section 608 Exam

The test is divided into 4 sections: Core, Type I, Type II, and Type III

Type I: A Type I technician primarily works on small appliances such as domestic refrigerators, window air conditioners, PTACs and vending machines, etc...

Type II: A Type II technician primarily works on equipment using a high pressure refrigerant such as HCFC-22. The equipment includes residential and lt. commercial air conditioners and heat pumps, roof top units, supermarket refrigeration and process refrigeration.

Type III: A Type III technician primarily works on equipment using a low pressure refrigerant such as HCFC-123 or CFC-11. These units are primarily chillers.

Universal: A candidate passing all three types is certified as Universal

Each section has 25 multiple choice questions. A technician must achieve a minimum score of 70% (18 out of 25) to pass that section of the exam. The Core section must be passed to receive any other certification.

For example: A technician could pass Core, Type I and Type III and fail Type II. In this case the technician would be certified as a Type I & Type III technician. Core must be passed to receive any certification. All sections must be passed in order to achieve Universal Technician status.

A technician may choose to take Core plus any combination of Type I, Type II or Type III. It is not required to take all four sections on the exam.

Tests are closed-book tests. The only outside materials allowed are a temperature/pressure chart and a calculator. The temperature/pressure chart and calculator are both available onscreen, on the online version of the exam. Otherwise, you may remove the chart at the end of this study guide for the exam.

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CORE

In this section we will cover general knowledge such as: Ozone depletion Clean Air Act and the Montreal Protocol Section 608 regulations Substitute refrigerants and oils Refrigeration Three R's Recovery techniques Dehydration evacuation Safety Shipping

Many consider the Core Section to be the most important section as Core is required to achieve any other certification type. And also because the information found in the Core Section, comes up again in other sections.

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Ozone Depletion:

Ozone is a naturally occurring gas molecule that is made up of three oxygen atoms (O3). This gas occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level. At ground level, ozone is considered "bad" and is a pollutant that causes significant health risks as well as damaging vegetation. The ozone that occurs in the upper atmosphere or stratosphere is considered "good" ozone. This "good" ozone in the stratosphere is a layer that extends about 6 to 30 miles above earth and creates a protective shield for Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Depletion of ozone allows more of the sun's harmful UV rays to reach the earth resulting in the following problems:

Increased temperature of the earth Increased cases of skin cancer Increased numbers of cataracts in the eyes Increased ground level ozone Crop and vegetation loss Reduced marine life While the total amount of ozone in the stratosphere varies by location, time and season, the effect of ozone depletion is a global problem. Destruction Process of Ozone Ozone can be destroyed by chlorine and bromine atoms emitted into the atmosphere. When a chlorine atom meets with an ozone molecule, it takes an oxygen atom from the ozone molecule. The ozone molecule (O3) changes to an oxygen molecule (O2), while the chlorine atom changes to a compound called chlorine monoxide (ClO).

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When chlorine monoxide meets ozone, it releases its oxygen atom and forms two O2 oxygen molecules, leaving the chlorine molecule free to attack another ozone molecule and repeat the process. It is estimated that a single chlorine atom can destroy 100,000 ozone molecules.

There has been a great deal of controversy over the subject of Ozone depletion. Some believe that the Chlorine found in the stratosphere comes from natural sources such as volcanic eruptions. However, air samples taken over erupting volcanoes show that volcanoes contribute only a small quantity of Chlorine as compared to CFC's. In addition, the rise in the amount of Chlorine measured in the stratosphere over the past two decades matches the rise in the amount of Fluorine, which has different natural sources than Chlorine, over the same period. Also, the rise in the amount of Chlorine measured in the stratosphere over the past twenty years, matches the rise in CFC emissions over the same period.

Unlike other Chlorine compounds and naturally occurring chlorine, the chlorine in CFC's will neither dissolve in water nor break down into compounds that dissolve in water, so they do not rain out of the atmosphere.

Despite being heavier than air, CFCs reach the stratosphere through wind motions that carry them upwards.

Ozone depletion potential (ODP) is the measurement of the ability of CFCs and HCFCs to destroy the ozone. CFCs have the highest ODP, followed by HCFCs. HFCs do not contain any chlorine and therefore do not have an ODP

Gas CFC HCFC HFC

Example R-11, R-12, R-500 R-22, R-123 R-134a

Elements Chlorine, Fluorine, Carbon Hydrogen, Chlorine, Fluorine, Carbon Hydrogen, Fluorine, Carbon

ODP Higher Lower None

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CLEAN AIR ACT:

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates section 608 of the Federal Clean Air Act.

Failure to comply could cost you and your company as much as $27,500* per day, per violation and there is a bounty of up to $10,000, to lure your competitors, customers and fellow workers to turn you in.

Service technicians who violate Clean Air Act provisions may be fined, lose their certification, and may be required to appear in Federal court.

The EPA may require technicians to demonstrate the ability to properly perform refrigerant recovery/recycling procedures. Failing to demonstrate these skills can result in revocation of certification. It is a violation of Section 608 to:

Falsify or fail to keep required records; Fail to reach required evacuation rates prior to opening or disposing of

appliances; Knowingly release (vent) CFC's, HCFC's or HFC's while repairing appliances,

with the exception of de-minimus releases; Service, maintain, or dispose of appliances designed to contain refrigerants

without being appropriately certified as of November 14, 1994. (It is the responsibility of the final person in the disposal chain to ensure that refrigerant has been removed from appliances before scrapping.) Vent CFC's or HCFC's since July 1, 1992; Vent HFC's since November 15, 1995; Fail to recover CFC's, HCFC's or HFC's before opening or disposing of an appliance; Fail to have an EPA approved recovery device, equipped with low loss fittings, and register the device with the EPA; Add nitrogen to a fully charged system, for the purpose of leak detection, and thereby cause a release of the mixture; Dispose of a disposable cylinder without first recovering any remaining refrigerant (to 0 psig.) and then rendering the cylinder useless, then recycling the metal;

In addition, some state and local government regulations may contain regulations that are as strict as or stricter than Section 608.

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